Hey, don’t you think you’re a little over-stressed? Seriously, since when is it okay to let stress manage our lives? I argue that we don’t have to be at it’s mercy. As a matter of fact, I firmly believe that it’s possible to overcome stress using only thought. Personally, I’ve managed to greatly reduce my stress through regular mental exercise. I would even go as far as saying it was easy. Yeah, it takes time, but it’s not difficult.

Before I get into the how…

Why You Need to Overcome Stress

Before overcoming stress, it’s essential to understand why you should even bother… After all, isn’t stress just a natural response?

Well, yes and no…

It’s true that stress is a natural response to a stressful situation (go figure…), but it’s a little more nuanced than that. The truth is, biologically, stress is a necessity. In a nutshell, it helped us escape from predators. The flaw here is, well, we don’t need to escape predators any more. In other words, our biology didn’t evolve at the same rate as our environment. We’re biologically almost the same as we were thousands of years ago.

Simply put, since the dawn of organized civilization, we’ve been getting stressed for all the wrong reasons. Stress was never meant to be constant, and it’s permanence in modern society brings countless issues. Literally, it has tons of negative symptoms. Among others, anxiety, a lack of motivation, sleep problems and much, much more… (Source: Mayo Clinic)

There’s a bright side though! It’s not a lost battle, humans have been blessed with the awesome power of the mind. We’ve got so much control over our lives, and I’m going to show YOU how you can exert that control, and never suffer the iron grip of stress again!

Overcome Stress Through Mindfulness

The secret is mindfulness. That’s it. If you can shift your mindset to focus solely on the present and it’s tasks at hand, stress will seem to fade away…

Easier said than done, right?

Well, not really. You really only need one trait in order to achieve a degree of mindfulness that makes stress manageable… Patience.

If you’re willing to give the practice of mindfulness time, you just will succeed. Now, you’re ready to practice, you’re patient, dedicated and tired of being a slave to stress… So, what now?

The 2 Simplest Ways to Improve Mindfulness

There are really only two exercises you need to incorporate into your life for this to work. Both of these will cultivate your conscious control. They’re also similar in the sense that they require, like any other skill, repetition to be effective. This is where patience comes into play, there’s no way to gauge how long this will take, but if you’re patient, you will succeed. Let’s get into the first step…

Affirmations

positive affirmations are a fantastic way to improve your self-image. The reason this is essential is because a positive self-image provides reassurance… And with reassurance comes a feeling of control over your environment. Affirmations don’t only help you overcome stress, they also boost confidence!

The process is pretty simple, seriously. You’ve only got to say something positive about yourself. This articleabout affirmations is a fantastic way to start!

Meditation

You might be tired of hearing about the benefits of meditation…

But they’re all true! You wouldn’t believe how effective meditation can be when it comes to overcoming stress. It’s surprisingly simple, too. There are a few ways, but I would recommend remaining comfortable while listening to some relaxing music or binaural beats. Afterwards, focus on taking deep breaths and always bring your thoughts back to your breath.

It’ll be hard at first, but it’s worth it. Meditation has an incredible positive impact on mindfulness. However, overcoming stress isn’t the only benefit meditation brings to you. Among other advantages, when done right, meditation can greatly reduce regular, daily frustrations.

Seriously, include mindfulness practices like meditation and affirmations and you’ll be well on your way to overcoming stress. You’ve got the potential to control your thoughts, your perspectives, and your mindset through mindfulness. Once you overcome unbearable stress, mindfulness will only continue to improve tons of other aspects of your daily life. Stick to it!